Norway

The Kingdom of Norway is a constitutional monarchy on the Scandinavian Peninsula. Although neutral in World War II, Norway was invaded by Germany and mounted substantial resistance. The constitutional government was restored at war's end, and Norway has since been known, like its neighboring Scandinavian states, for social equality and progressive governance. Norwegian exports include cheese, furniture, fish, and clothing.¹

Fast Facts

1. Capital: Oslo
2. Government: Constitutional Monarchy
3. Population: 4,644,457 (July 2008 est.)²
4. Currency: Norwegian Krone (NOK)
5. Exchange Rate: Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 5.1434 (2008), 5.8569 (2007), 6.4117 (2006), 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003), 7.9838 (2002)
6. Official Languages: Norwegian, Saami

Geography and Climate

Norway shares a long eastern border with Sweden, and wraps around Sweden to the north to share smaller arctic borders with Finland and Russia. 190 miles to the west of Norway is the frontier of Scotland. The terrain is predominantly mountainous and glacial, with highlands dropping abruptly to the deep fissures and stream channels of fjords, and a generally steep western coastline marked by jigsaw curves and myriad islands. The climate varies greatly between the temperate south and the arctic north, although Norway's generally high latitude provides even the southern capital of Oslo with the seasonal variations in daylight characteristic to Scandinavia.

History

During the Viking period, in which waves of Scandinavians, all on basically the same program, ravaged their way as far as Newfoundland, the proto-Norwegians were more colonial-minded than most, founding communities in Ireland (including the city of Dublin, and in farther locales including Greenland. After Viking-related activities settled down, following the slow Nordic adoption of Christianity, Norway itself settled into a 400-year alliance with Denmark which arguably suborned the country to Danish interests. Afterward, as is common in Scandinavian national histories, trouble followed involving the other major country in the troika, in this case Sweden. Norway declared full independence as a constitutional state in 1814. Now independent, Norway formed a union with Sweden, with the Swedish king named head of both countries. The union held until 1905, when it was dissolved peacefully, although the threat of war loomed heavily at that time.³

Countries of Scandinavia

• Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden

Lighting Strike

On August 3, 2008, lightning struck during a Rallycross auto racing event in Oslo. 91 spectators were hit by the lightning, with 45 individuals taken to the hospital to be treated for minor burns. No major injuries are reported to have occured.⁴

Categories